Potion Mania Sweeps the Guilds
Our guild master said they'd buy it at the highest price no matter what, and they actually did and sent it to the guild lololol
Now we're a potion-owning guild too lolol
Any climbers interested in joining, leave a secret comment on my guestbook go go
— PotPotPot:
Asked how they got it and they said the association gave it to us; Not free exactly, but suddenly having a potion in the guild feels kinda weird...
— DoneWithThis: No word in our guild?
— PotPotPot: How small-fry is your guild?
— DoneWithThis: What? Our guild's in the top 10!
— PotPotPot: That one with the 2nd-gen S-rank guild master maybe?
— DoneWithThis: Yeah
— PotPotPot: Everyone knows why you didn't get one except you lol
— Anon: Fr lol
However, guilds with disciplinary history or currently under discipline are excluded from potion distribution yeah (e.g., 'that' guild)
Guilds that didn't get potions are rebelling, but the association president is personally shutting it down hard
Rumors that some potions have already been sold to foreign climbers for big money
Foreign climbers are showing interest in DMZ Tower, and association president is personally negotiating apparently
< This one's in our favor on principle, so it'll wrap up easy?
Estimated ~50 potions released to the market so far
Low-grade, but grade doesn't matter—what matters is these dropped in just 'one' day lololol
Probably more tomorrow hehheheh
— Anon: Aah... GalleryLord... pure light...
— Anon: You defending the potion sellers rn? What if you die mid-climb without one? You'd defend them then too?
— FactChung: Fact is I already have GalleryLord's potion lol
— Anon: Bro plz sell me one
— FactChung: lol
...
The system window had given me... writing privileges. Sort of.
More precisely, 'comment' writing privileges.
And among those, only emoji privileges.
Emojis modeled exactly after me were prepped and ready, somehow made without me knowing when or how, and all I could use were those cons.
"Heh heh..."
I wasn't thrilled about emojis mimicking me, but being able to comment felt great.
"Notice my displeasure, you fools."
Displeasure.
How's that? Doesn't receiving this comment make your heart uneasy?
Gallery antics will get harder from now on.
Because next, writing privileges will probably unlock soon.
Then you won't be able to praise GalleryLord anymore.
Public opinion will erode, and you'll start slandering and hating GalleryLord.
"Heh heh heh..."
I cackled wickedly under the covers.
Reina, if you do that where others can see, penalty incoming~!
"What did I even do?"
I threw off the covers and grumbled.
Of course, it was a look hard to show others.
The sun was still high in the sky.
But gallery time in bed during broad daylight might look bad, yet for me, it was crucial.
Catching up on concept posts.
Commenting, downvoting.
Gauging gallery sentiment, planning how to shake it up.
Super important stuff.
"Damn right."
Stop praising me already.
It's embarrassing.
Ahem.
I nodded.
"Back to gallery time then."
Thanks to finishing chores early for once, I could indulge for a long stretch.
12 hours till midnight.
Gallery?
Ransacked it all today.
Taste my displeasure.
I refocused on the gallery.
...
While Reina was deep in gallery mode...
Choi Mi-na and the other climbers met up with Choi Kang-hyuk.
"Good to see you."
The climbers shrank back at Choi Kang-hyuk's casual greeting.
The strongest climber.
Tower Breaker.
The psychopath who'd sacrifice even fellow climbers if needed.
His infamy echoed endlessly in the gallery.
To verify rumors, you'd need to enter the tower with him—but the bare minimum to do that was A-rank.
And even then, only with a select few he trusted.
Choi Kang-hyuk had officially requested support, and they'd been chosen and met him.
Historic first.
No wonder the climbers were tense.
Except Choi Mi-na.
"Hey. Long time."
She responded nonchalantly to his greeting.
"Sorry to ask right away, but mind joining on the layer quest?"
"That wall repair thing?"
"Yeah."
Choi Kang-hyuk nodded.
"Linked quests lead to ultimately blocking the monster wave to save this city—seems like the clear condition."
"Tower could use some creativity. We'd have cleared three without this joke."
Choi Mi-na shrugged.
Single-layer towers like this were annoying.
Could smash a wave quick if it came straight, but these roundabout quests were a headache.
Final wave difficulty scaled with quest performance.
Early on, half-assing led to fails—but now with experience, no such mistakes.
Just tedious with all the details.
"Let's move, everyone. Not hard... let's wrap it quick."
The climbers nodded at Choi Mi-na's order.
These towers rarely got support.
No monster fights, no freebies.
Obvious avoidance target—but potions as reward changed everything.
"Um... GalleryLord giving potions tomorrow too?"
One climber mustered courage to ask Choi Kang-hyuk.
Everyone wondered; no one stopped it.
Choi Kang-hyuk eyed the A-rank climber he'd seen somewhere before. Briefly.
"Yes."
He turned away curtly.
"Ooh..."
Morale skyrocketed.
"Let's go."
Choi Kang-hyuk led to the quest site.
Climbers followed with eager steps.
Quests were simple.
Haul stone, trim wood, occasional NPC errands.
All day, and grateful NPCs gave generous resources.
Climbers dispersed on their own.
Same guild? Shared lodging or dinner for management.
But all different guilds here.
Just a few notables stuck together; others vanished quick.
Probably relaying potion info to guilds, selling, or secret offers.
Choi Mi-na sat on a bench, gazing skyward.
Knew it was tower illusion, yet felt real.
"Kang-hyuk."
"What."
"That NPC—what's her deal?"
"Which."
"C'mon, you know. The un-NPC-like NPC."
Choi Mi-na thought of the NPC named Reina.
Sudden appearance, shoving gifts.
Not the first such NPC.
Usually flower-giving smiling city poster girls.
Like pretty arrangements to Choi Mi-na.
But Reina was different.
"Kinda more... alive, right?"
Live flower, not arrangement.
That's how it felt.
"So that NPC seems human?"
"Kinda feels that way."
She spoke cautiously.
NPCs weren't human. Proven fact—brutal, via analysts' mental manipulation and torture.
Tower puppets, lives for orders.
All NPCs met so far fit.
"That NPC's different from others."
"You agreeing with me? Rare."
Choi Kang-hyuk, empathy-blind, rarely agreed.
Choi Mi-na eyed him.
Still expressionless.
His mouth opened carefully.
"That NPC can make potions."
"...What?"
Choi Mi-na's jaw dropped.